Fancy Running Into You Here
by musicalgalaxy1000
Summary: Belle escapes the asylum sooner and runs into Mr. Gold... literally. One-shot idea that I wanted to put down.


**I don't own Once Upon a Time or its characters or anything else. This one's a bit clunky but I wanted to get the idea down.**

Belle was clouded with conflicting thoughts and images as she sprinted down the street.

Escaping he asylum had been the easy part; a man broke her out, telling her to find a "Mr Gold."

"Thank you, Jefferson," she had replied. Being in this strange but somehow familiar world hadn't kept her from remembering her past life. This same man had met with Rumpelstiltskin a few times. She trusted him. And she figured she could trust this "Mr Gold" as well. Something was telling her he'd lead her to Rumple. But right now she was trying to avoid Regina, the dark haired woman who had locked her up.

Police sirens, an unlocked car, and a moment of bravery-or perhaps it was stupidity- lead to what happened next.

Traffic laws and regulations are relatively clear, at least in the eyes of the court. The town of Storybrooke, however, had a few additional, unwritten rules. Primarily, let Mr. Gold drive however he wants.

At most intersections the drivers know to let the first person who came be the first person to leave. In Storybrooke the same applied, unless you were letting the infamous landlord go ahead. No one would blame you for this. No one would angrily honk there horns at this. The few who have only made that mistake once.

It would be easy for him to drive horribly. Frankly he could drive on the left side of the road for a day and the rest of the town would yield to it. Since Ms. Swan's arrival and more memories of his past life had come forward, he was a little tempted to actually do it. But of course he couldn't make Madame Mayor too suspicious. He just played along in his role of the malevolent shop owner and waited for the savior to realize her destiny.

He hadn't expected anything drastic coming up to the intersection. He slowed a bit but kept the car going forward, knowing the few Storybrooke residents who were out at this time of night would be wary of him and his vehicle. But just before he got to the other side someone else decided to drive across the same way. Their car slammed into his trunk from the side, pushing him almost onto the sidewalk. "Bloody hell," he muttered. He grabbed his cane and dramatically swung his door open, hoping to show the offender he meant business. "Well I hope you have insurance, dear," he started but his gaze fell on the driver and he stopped.

If it weren't for her fear of being locked up again, Belle wouldn't have gotten into that car. At least she told herself that. Stealing was wrong, but so was imprisoning the innocent. Some memories of this land floated in her mind, allowing her to get the vehicle going. She wasn't certain of her actions but that didn't stop her from hastily pulling into the street and speeding away from the sirens.

She saw a sleek black car make its way across the intersection. She should have stopped sooner, but she was frozen. She could have sworn the driver looked like-

She hit the breaks too late and she collided with the-likely expensive-car. Her head lurched forward at the impact, thankfully she had slowed enough to not send her flying through the windshield. Her grip on the steering wheel stayed tight, she blinked as a slight headrush swept through her.

The black car's driver stepped out, cane in hand. _Oh gods, how will I explain this?_ As her dizziness died down she could barely make out his face. "Well I hope you have insurance, dear." His voice only confirmed her suspicions; she hadn't made it up, he was right there!

"Rumpelstiltskin?!" He was frozen outside his car, looking like he'd seen a ghost.

He had to be dreaming. "Belle?"

She hurriedly opened the door to see him.

He glanced down at her hospital gown and knit his brows.

"Rumpelstiltskin." She runs into his arms. He almost dropped his cane as she rushed into his arms. She was real. This was real.

"Oh Belle, I'm sorry." he had no idea what to say. He had thought back to the day he sent her away thousands of times. There was no way he could make up for that. And being in the moment-something he'd only dreamed of-put him at a loss for words. "I should've- I didn't... oh Belle."

Before he could gather his thoughts into a proper apology, he heard a police siren and felt Belle tense. "Belle, what's wrong?"

"They're going to take me back," she gazed warily down the road, unsure of her next move. How far away did Rumple live now? Would the police search there? Did Rumple want her there?

"I'll take care of it from here. Why don't you get in the car?"

"Are you sure?"

"Of course," he squeezed her hand. She smiled and got into the passenger seat.

Mr. Gold stood in the road with a thousand-yard stare. Belle's get-away car was still t-boning his, his lip quirked up into a small smirk.

The sheriff pulled up to the scene, turned the siren off, and stepped out of the police car. He cleared his throat, "Mr. Gold."

"Sheriff Graham."

"I see you've found the stolen car. Quite a dent it's got."

"Well I can cover the damages."

"Alright. Did you happen to see where the thief went?"

"Yes, of course," he said with a bit of a smile.

Graham blinked, unsure how to respond. "Would you care to share?"

"No, I think not. I intend to handle this little incident myself."

"But we need to-"

"I am aware of how you'll handle this. In your report, please let Madame Mayor know I need to talk to her."

"Uh, alright." The sheriff walked off, knowing he didn't want to confront Gold and Regina both in one night.


End file.
